[/caption]8 Gold Medals=Olympic Greatness
Last Sunday (Aug. 17), the world saw how 23-year-old American swimmer Michael "The Baltimore Bullet" Phelps earned his 8th gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, giving him an exclusive pass to the pantheon of Olympic achievements along side Soviet gymnasts Alexander Dityatins and Larrissa Latynina.
According to wikipedia.com, Phelps got an Olympic gold medal in the following swimming events in Beijing alone:
- 400m Individual Medley - World Record
- 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay - World Record
- 200m Freestyle - World Record
- 200m Butterfly - World Record
- 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay - World Record
- 200m Individual Medley - World Record
- 100m Butterfly - Olympic Record
- 4 x 100m Medley Relay - World Record
(In a British accent) Absolutely astonishing, if I say so myself!
On a heavier note, he wants his Olympic accomplishment to be an igniting force that would take swimming to another level outside the Olympic arena. "I don't want this sport to be an every-four-year sport," he said Sunday after gaining his 8th gold medal. "I think, yeah, we get the most attention every four years. But in between those four years there's really not as much exposure for us as I would like. I just want more people to get involved in the sport. I really think it's going to happen. I think over the next four years it's going to happen more and more."
Unattainable, eh? Probably not.
36 years after Mark Spitz made his mark in the Munich Olympics with 7 gold medals, a young man from Baltimore who likes to eat pizza and hates waking up early broke the so-called "Spitzean Feat."
"It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he's maybe the greatest athlete of all time," Spitz told The Associated Press after Phelps matched his 7 Olympic gold medal triumph. "He's the greatest racer who ever walked the planet."
"I hate to lose," Michael said. "When I lose a race like that, it motivates me even more to try to swim faster." He was only 19 when he first got his Olympic shot at Athens, where he got a Bronze Medal at the 200m Freestyle. It was his only loss.
Seriously, my Thesaurus ran out of superlatives that would best describe his superb accomplishment.
What's next for Michael Phelps? According to an interview, he wants to continue his Olympic winning streak to the 2012 London Olympic Games. But for now, he just wants to, at least, lie on his bed for about 5 minutes or so, then play golf. A well-deserved break, I suppose, fit for a king.
Coffee, Michael? :D
Haha. Syempre! Coffee lover eh. :)
ReplyDeleteCoffee, Doc? Hahahaha. :p